Apparatus for metering a quantity of additive substance with respect to a main substance in response to the quantity of the latter substance

ABSTRACT

A method for metering a certain quantity of addition substance to a main substance by means of two vessels of different size one for the main substance and the other for the addition substance - which are filled batchwise and which are both emptied into a mixing vessel as soon as the larger vessel is filled (the smaller under actuation of the larger) and which are then returned to starting position, to be refilled.

United States Patent Inventor Sixten Engleson Djursholrn, Sweden Appl. No. 780,727

Filed Dec. 3, 1968 Patented June 22, 1971 Assignee Stenberg-Flygt AB Solna, Sweden APPARATUS FOR METERING A QUANTITY OF ADDITIVE SUBSTANCE WITH RESPECT TO A MAIN SUBSTANCE IN RESPONSE TO THE QUANTITY OF THE LA'I'IER SUBSTANCE 3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl.. l37/99.5

Int. Cl G05d 1 1/00 Field of Search 103/81; 137/9, 99.5; 222/57 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 404,849 6/1889 Heard 103/81 9/1916 Ervin 103/81 10/1916 Wood... 137/9 1/1940 Furbyw 222/57 7/1943 Hight........ 222/358 11/1951 Albertson 137/995 10/ 1966 Streb 222/57 FORElGN PATENTS 3/1906 Austria 137/995 Primary ExaminerWilliam L. Freeh Attorney-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn and Macpeak ABSTRACT: A method for metering a certain quantity of addition substance to a main substance by means of two vessels of different size one for the main substance and the other for the addition substance which are filled batchwise and which are both emptied into a mixing vessel as soon as the larger vessel is filled (the smaller under actuation of the larger) and which are then returned to starting position, to be refilled.

PATENTED JUN22 |97| SHEET 2 BF 8 Fig.3

PATENTEU JUN22 |97l sum 3 OF 8 PATENTED JUN22 l97l SHEET 8 OF 8 PATENTEU JUN22 1971 SHEET 8 OF 8 APPARATUS FOR METERING A QUANTITY OF ADDITIVE SUBSTANCE WITH RESPECT TO A MAIN SUBSTANCE IN RESPONSE TO THE QUANTITY OF THE LATTER SUBSTANCE Disclosed in a contemporaneous Pat. application No. 717,547 is a method for the aerobic treatment of sewage water, in which it is suggested that regenerated sludge, i.e. ac-

tivated sludge, is metered in certain given proportions to the incoming sewage water, as opposed to the procedure in conventional systems which apply constant sludge circulation per unit of time.

The present invention is concerned with an expedient method and suitable apparatus which make this suggested procedure possible and which also provide a solution to the problem of metering a certain quantity of an addition substance to a main substance in dependence of the latter substance. This may entail the addition of activated sludge to sewage water, chemicals to liquids, suspension agents to suspensions, liquid to powder or granular materials etc.

The metering method of the invention is mainly characterized in that at least two vessels, preferably of different size, of which one is intended to contain the main substance and the other the addition substance and the volumetric capacity of which is in mutual relationship with the quantity of substance to be metered, are filled batchwise, the larger vessel with the main substance and the smaller with the addition substance, and that the vessels are so arranged that as soon as the larger vessel is filled, the contents thereof are emptied into a mixing vessel, and so that the smaller vessel is also emptied into said container under the actuation of the larger vessel when said larger vessel is emptied into the container, and that the vessels are then returned automatically to starting position, to be refilled. It is important in this connection that the smaller vessel is filled at such a rate that it is full at the latest simultaneously with the larger vessel. The larger vessel is suitably filled by means ofa delivering pipe or the like and the smaller vessel by immersing it in a storage container.

The invention is also concerned with an apparatus for carrying out the method, which includes at least two vessels, a larger vessel for the main substance and a smaller vessel for the addition substance, and the volumetric capacity of which two vessels is in a mutual relationship corresponding to the amount of substance to be metered, and in which the vessels are so arranged that as soon as the larger vessel is filled, it is automatically emptied into the mixing vessel and that the smaller vessel is entrained by the larger, to be emptied into the same container. To ensure that the largeryessel is returned to starting position when emptied said vessel is suitably balanced by a counterweight, which may comprise a duplicating vessel which is filled and emptied alternately with the original vessel.

In a further development of the invention the smaller vessel or vessels is or are mounted about shafts positioned perpendicular to the bearing shaft or shafts of the larger vessel or vessels, and adapted to be driven or actuated by dog members on the larger vessel or vessels. Alternatively, the smaller vessels may be mounted about a common shaft with the larger vessel or vessels. In the latter case, both the smaller and larger vessels are suitably fixed to said shaft, which is then rotatably arranged in, for example, a wall or the like between the mixing vessel and a storage container. The outlet from the smaller vessels can then either be formed by removing one of the vessel walls or by arranging said outlet in the form of pipes or flexible hoses or the like, passing to the mixing vessel.

In another modification of the invention the counterbalance cooperating with the larger vessel is in the form of a smaller vessel, suitably adapted to be emptied into the mixing vessel via the larger vessel, optionally through a flap in a wall or the like between the two vessels. It is also convenient to construct the larger and smaller vessel as one unit, in the form of a double scoop or tiltable scoop.

It is also within the concept of the invention to construct the two larger vessels as a single unit.

The vessels are preferably made of sheet metal or a plastic material.

To enable the quantity of, e.g. substances mixed to be superintended the metering apparatus is suitably provided with a counting mechanism, which registers the number of emptying operations.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. I and 2 show a metering apparatus in the form of a double, tiltable scoop being filled and emptied,

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a double tiltable scoop of another design during filling and emptying of said scoop,

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a double scoop consisting of two larger scoops and mounted in labial equilibrium, and two smaller scoops intended to be entrained alternately by the double scoop, with the double scoop in either position,

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a variation of the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, and

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a double scoop constructed of two larger vessels, and a double scoop constructed of two smaller vessels, fixed to a common rotatable shaft, in two alternative positions.

The metering apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 consists of a tiltable double scoop I having a scoop part 2 forming a larger vessel and a scoop part 3 forming a smaller vessel. The tiltable scoop is mounted about a shaft 4 arranged on a U-shaped, bent plate member 5 which rests over an edge of a wall 6 between a mixing vessel beyond said wall and a storage container in front of said wall. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. I and 2 the main substance, in this instance sewage water, is delivered by a pipe 7. The sewage water is delivered intermittently, and in the position, shown in FIG. I the larger scoop part 2 is being filled while the smaller scoop part 3 has been immersed in the substance in the storage container, which in this instance is activated sludge. When the scoop part 2 has been filled with sewage water the double scoop is tilted towards the mixing vessel, by rotation of the shaft 4. The double scoop is thus moved to the position shown in FIG. 2, in which the sewage water is emptied from the larger scoop part 2, whilst at the same time the sludge slides over the back 8 of the double scoop into the larger scoop part, and is emptied therefrom into the mixing container.

In this way an appropriate quantity of activated sludge, measured by the smaller scoop part, is obtained for each measured quantity of sewage water. In the illustrated embodiment the volumetric capacity of the scoop part 3 is imagined to be about one quarter of that of the larger scoop part 2.

Illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is a modification of the double scoop shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which is suitable for large quantities of sewage water and correspondingly large quantities of activated sludge.

This scoop functions essentially in the same manner as the scoop described above. The one structural difference is that the larger scoop part has been provided with a wall between said part and the smaller scoop part, the wall being provided in turn with a flap 9 mounted about an axle l0 and closed by the sewage water collected in the larger scoop part. When the larger scoop part has been filled and the double scoop tips towards the mixing container and commences to discharge the sewage water, the flap 9 opens and allows the sludge to pass from the scoop part 3 into the scoop part 2, to be emptied therefrom into the mixing container.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate another embodiment of the invention, In this embodiment, two large vessels 2 and 2 are combined to form one double scoop 1. This double scoop is divided into two equal portions by a wall 11. The double scoop is mounted, by means of a shaft 12 extending in the plane of said wall, in the partition wall 6 between the mixing chamber or container positioned beyond said wall and the storage container positioned in front of said wall. The bearing arrangement is such that the double scoop is able to tilt in a plane parallel with said wall, the scoop being tilted in either direction depending upon which of the scoop parts 2 and 2 has been filled at that moment by the delivery pipe 7, as shown in FIGS. and 6. The scoop axle 12 is thus at right angles to the wall 6. Journaled to the walls 6 are also two smaller scoops 3 and 3, the bearing axles 13, 13 of which rest on the top of the wall 6, where they are fixed by means of bent hinge plates 14, 14. The double scoop 1 is provided with actuators or dog members 15, which are adapted to cooperate with projections 16, 16' on the scoops 3, 3' in a manner to cause alternate emptying of the scoops. Emptying of the scoops is effected so that the smaller scoop 3 is emptied simultaneously with the larger scoop 2, and the smaller scoop 3 is emptied at the same time as the larger scoop 2 this being achieved by alternate engagement of the dog members 15, 15 with the projections 16, 16 on the small scoops 3, 3', as is evident from FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a modification of the metering apparatus shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in which the double scoop formed by the two larger scoops 2 and 2 is made to conform to the contours of a cylindrical wall 6 between a storage container formed within the cylinder and a mixing vessel positioned outside said cylinder. The same reference numerals are used for like members in FIGS. 7 and 8 as those used in FIGS. 5 and 6. In addition to the double scoop 1 in the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 being rounded to conform to the cylindrical contours of wall 6 on added difference to the scoop 1 of FIGS. 5 and 6 is that the actuators 15, 15 are lines, which connect the outer corners of the double scoop 1 and the nearest corner of the smaller scoops 3, 3. The mode of operation in other respects is exactly the same in both embodiments.

A further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The parts of this embodiment which correspond to similar parts of the embodiments described in connection with FIGS. 5-8 have also the same reference numerals. In the embodiment being described the two larger scoops 2, 2 are combined to form a double scoop 3". The two double scoops are fixed to a common axle 12, which is rotatably mounted in the wall 6 between the storage container situated beyond the wall and the mixing vessel positioned in front of said wall. The small scoops 3 and 3 are provided with walls on all four sides and are emptied in the following manner: when a larger scoop 2 is filled, the smaller scoop 3 situated on the opposite side of the axle 12 is emptied together with the larger scoop 2' by means of a discharge hose 17, the discharger orifice of which is arranged in the proximity of the dividing wall between the two smaller scoops 3, 3, as can be seen from FIG. 10. Similarly, the smaller scoop 3 is emptied together with the larger scoop 2, which is effected through hose 17 which, similar to hose 17', discharges into the mixing vessel.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a number of embodiments thereof which have all been conceived with regard to mixing activated sludge with sewage water, the invention can also be applied to effect mixtures of other ingredients, as indicated in the introduction. Similarly it is within the concept of the invention to provide extra scoops so that a portion of the addition substance can be transferred to another container, or so that more than two substances can be mixed together. It is thus obvious that the invention can be widely varied within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A metering apparatus for metering a quantity of activated fluid sludge to be added to raw fluid sewage in a desired proportionate amount comprising: two vessels of different sizes, the relative dimension of the vessels being set to maintain the desired proportionate relationship; the larger vessel adapted to receive raw sewage while the smaller vessel is adapted to receive activated sludge; a conduit means connecting the vessels to permit fluid flow between the vessels when the vessels assume a certain relative position; pivot means attached to the conduit means for permitting the vessels to assume different relative positions which permit fluid flow from the one vessel to the other vessel; a mixing container for receiving the discharge of both vessels; means for discharging raw sewage into the larger vessel; and means for supplying the smaller vessel with activated sewage at a rate that ensures that the smaller vessel will be filled with activated sewage at least by the time the larger vessel is filled with raw sewage, the smaller vessel emptying the activated sludge into the larger vessel when the vessels are in a discharge position, the pivot means being located to ensure that the smaller vessel is balanced to return the vessels to their initial charging position after discharging both the activated and raw sewage into the mixing container.

2. A metering apparatus as in claim 1 where the larger vessel is provided with a flap pivoted on the interior of the larger vessel to prevent the flow of raw sewage into the smaller container in the charging position while permitting the flow of activated sewage into the larger vessel from the smaller vessel when the vessels are in a discharging position.

3. A metering apparatus as in claim 2 where the means for discharging raw sewage is located above the larger vessel, the means for supplying activated sewage including a tank so positioned with respect to the pivotable smaller vessel to permit the smaller vessel to be dipped into the activated sludge in the tank and to be filled at a rate that ensures that the smaller vessel will be filled with activated sewage before the larger vessel is filled with raw sewage, and the flap of the larger vessel being retained in a closed position solely by the weight of the raw sewage. 

1. A metering apparatus for metering a quantity of activated fluid sludge to be added to raw fluid sewage in a desired proportionate amount comprising: two vessels of different sizes, the relative dimension of the vessels being set to maintain the desired proportionate relationship; the larger vessel adapted to receive raw sewage while the smaller vessel is adapted to receive activated sludge; a conduit means connecting the vessels to permit fluid flow between the vessels when the vessels assume a certain relative position; pivot means attached to the conduit means for permitting the vessels to assume different relative positions which permit fluid flow from the one vessel to the other vessel; a mixing container for receiving the discharge of both vessels; means for discharging raw sewage into the larger vessel; and means for supplying the smaller vessel with activated sewage at a rate that ensures that the smaller vessel will be filled with activated sewage at least by the time the larger vessel is filled with raw sewage, the smaller vessel emptying the activated sludge into the larger vessel when the vessels are in a discharge position, the pivot means being located to ensure that the smaller vessel is balanced to return the vessels to their initial charging position after discharging both the activated and raw sewage into the mixing container.
 2. A metering apparatus as in claim 1 where the larger vessel is provided with a flap pivoted on the interior of the larger vessel to prevent the flow of raw sewage into the smaller container in the charging position while permitting the flow of activated sewage into the larger vessel from the smaller vessel when the vessels are in a discharging position.
 3. A metering apparatus as in claim 2 where the means for discharging raw sewage is located above the larger vessel, the means for supplying activated sewage including a tank so positioned with respect to the pivotable smaller vessel to permit the smaller vessel to be dipped into the activated sludge in the tank and to be filled at a rate that ensures that the smaller vessel will be filled with activated sewage before the larger vessel is filled with raw sewage, and the flap of the larger vessel being retained in a closed position solely by the weight of the raw sewage. 